What is cuisine?

Cuisine (French Word) – kitchen cuisine is a specific set of cooking traditional and practices often associated with specific culture. Now cuisine means (Style of Cooking).

French Cuisine:

French Cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation France French cuisine is considered to be one of the world’s most refined & elegant style of cooking, and is renewed fro such its classical (“Hante Cuisine ) And provincial style.

Religion and Location of France :

Location: Metropolitan France (Dark green on the European continent in the European union. 

Capital : Paris

Official Language : French, Alsatian, Basque, Breton, etc.

Government : Semi-presidential Republic.

President : Nicolas Sarkozy

French Revolution : 1958

Area : 674843 km2

Population : 68073482

Currency : Euro, CFP, Frank

France is Broadband (clockwise) By:

France has 22 regions.

22 regions are subdivided into 96 Departments.

96 department is divided into 330 asrondissements.

330 asrondissements into 3883 cantons .

3883 cantons are divided into 36,569 communes.

Origion of French Cuisine

Guillanume tirel :

The era of the French revolution however saw a move towards fever spices and more liberal usage of herbs and refined techniques, beginning with Franco's Pierre la Varenne and further developing with Napoleon Bonaparte and other dignitaries, Marie-Antoine crème.

French cuisine was codified in the 20th century by Georges Augusta Escoffier to become the modern version of haute cuisine.

Escoffier’s major work, however left out much of the religion character to be found in the prorrinces of France.

Gastro – tourism and the guide Michelin helped to bring people to the countryside during the 20 century and beyond to sample this rich bougeois and pea cuisine of France.

Gascon cuisine has also a great influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France.

Ingredients and dishes vary by region. There are many significant regional dishes that have become both nation & regional.

Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated in variation across the country.

Cheese and wines are a major part of the cuisine playing different roles regionally & nationally with their many variation & application dorigine controlee law. (AOC)

Historical Background :

at the and of the Merovingian periods the convents which of the preserved all the tradition of the gourmands used in France. It is the beginning of culinary arts.

“Volet le Duc” in the course of this studies said that the kitchen used were large and pot roasting was vary common.

In the 12th century ovens were installed fro preparing roasts.

From the 14th century Sauces were launch appreciated part of culinary art.

Menus was varied which was inclusive of game. Fish fowl, butchers meat etc. vegetable were featured less.

At the end of the 16th century, Italian Coops and Pasty cook were employed.

In the 17th & 18th century royalty and high ranking people took great interest in food and cooks in gratitude named dishes after them.

At the end of the 19th century, French cuisine reached the highest point of perfection chefs like, “ Escoffier” and proper sells published books on coopery.

French cooking is less complicated garnish served are more complicated it has a delicate flavor as spices are used spryly and they create a suspicion in coups mind if that are incorporated in the dish.

Every ingredients speaks its own language . Wines are used fro cooking enhance the taste gives a unusual flavor.

Garnishes and accompaniments are play a key role in the French cuisine and dishes are identified by the them.

The wines fro cooking from the Boredoms, champagne & Brittany.

Ingredients play a very imp. Role as it has climatic variations in the South of France, the Mediterranean an heats adds flavor and richness to fruits vegetables and herbs.

In the Northern region, finest fish is available. In certain region mashrooms and hard cheese are popular.

History

Until about two decades ago, French cuisine had two clear cut branches i.e. La Grande Cuisine (or) Haute Cuisine and Provencal.

Then with the changing tastes came Nouvelle Cuisine and Cuisine Minceur.

LA GRANDE CUISINE

Greeks provides the philosophy of Epicureanism.

The Romans first made dining a Grandiose & Lavish affair and then with the Renaissance, gave it a touch of subtlety and elegance which is what they exported to France.

The first man to attempt to establishing cooking as an exact science was a Frenchman, Tailleuant whose real name was Guillaume Pirel.

Chef to Philip VI, Charles V & Charles VI among other kings and nobleman, Tailleuant is created with having written the French cookery book , La Vuiandier.

France invasions of Italy during the renaissance left such as inedible impression on successive French kings that they bought back a considerable “touch” of Italy with them.

In 1533, the 14 year old Catherine de Me4dici was betrothed to the future king Henry II Her ‘Dowry’ include a routine of Italian cooks who first introduced sauces & Desserts in France.

In 1547, when Henry become king of France. His wife (Queen) put a stop to gourncondensing of food and a new era of etiquettes & Manners began.

Further culinary strides were made when the sun king Louis XIV, sat on a throne of France.

It was a age of lylutony & no one was a grater glutton then Louis himself.

Paracloxically, Lauic was a Gourmand & Gourment.

His cookes were rewarded with the title of officer.

It was during a sign that La Vermeil Practiced his art to this chef Goss the credit for discarding heavy spices & introducing truffles & mushrooms with meat delicacies.

La Varenne wrote Le Cuisiner Francois, the most important cookery book at that time.

The French Cuisine blossomed in the palace & chateaux of France during the region of Louis XIV was guillotined. French cuisine went into decline.

Subsequently it was revived in the days of Masters Chefs Marine-antion Crème (1784-1835) & Augusta Escoffier (1846-1935).

Most of the French restaurants are the globe still serves the creation of these high priests of La Grande Cuisine.

Many fine dedicacys were failed to find the place in font of Houte Cuisme’s repertoire.

The basis of La grande Cuisine is its sauces.

Acc/to Augusta Escoffier. The heart of French Cuisine is its essential sauce and the cuisine is based on the six month sauces.

What distinguish Haute Cuisine, every dish has to reproduce Exactly. There is no room for experimentation.

Eg. A hot entrie must be served as exactaly at right tempreaturelly.

A cold dish must be served luke warm Haute cuisine is like a Ritual. One that can’t be attered nor can tampred with.

Each dish has prepared skiffully becouse it required many years of training.

The reason: the cuisine’s culture so defined than that of the other cuisine in the world.

It is impossibly to prepare Haute cuisine delicious without stocks, sauces & garmishesh.

An aprentice in a french cuisine has to go through the grind of making stock, sauces & leants of artistically cut of vegatable.

When these aprintice become full flegged chef, the do not need deatiled recepies.

Most cooking books dismiss the recepies in 4-5 lines with crisp instruction like.

Serve grilled tournedos with hallandaise Sauce, or to prepare cold chicken Coat with Chaud Froid and Aspic and garnish with block alives.

the chef is expected to know what the tournedos cut is, how to make hollandaise, chand froid and aspic as well as how to prepare the block alives garnish.

In fiaute cuisine , it is not enouigh to prepare dish well. The service is as important as the prepration . This genre of cooking demandes a silver service.

Provencale :

Provencale cooking many not have the same following outside of france but within the country, dish for dish it is just popular as haute cuisine.

Very often misconstrued as a rural food consumed by country bumpkins.

The most important diffence between the Haute cuisine provencal Cuisine is its sauces.

The provencal cuisine the dishesh are prepared in their own juice & natural juice.

One of the finest example of the provencal cooking is the classic cog Cua vin All the ingredients are put in the casserole and cooked in the oven garnish and served.

There can be no two openion that the sauce thus prepared is better than all the fabricated sauces.

other important difference is that provencale cooking is done with the home grown ingredients.

Eg. All the NICOISE Cooking is dominated by tomatoes 7 Garlic .The Reason : the two are grown in abundance in the Nice region.

In pre-revolution france there were 30 proviences, each with distinctive culture dialect history and above all else cuisine. For culinary considration the country can be divided into I major provinances.

BRETAGNE AND NORMANDIE

These two prorinces from the north coast of France.

Breton Coast is famed for the Belon & Oyestess

Normandy’s Coastline Dotted with innumerable tiny fishing ports, it is the home of sole coat and herring.On shore Normandy is one of the most boasts of lush meadows and orchards.

The meadows prorrides excellent graging and the cattle here produce richest milk products.

The salt marshes along the coast are ideal fro lamb farming and the region is proud fro its meat.

Both provinances are famous for orchards of apple & therefore produce excellent cider & Calvadoes.

CHANPAGNE- ARTOIS FLANDRE PICARDIE

champagne is better known for its bubby, the worlds most famous sparking wine, then for its cuisine. Its culinary repertoise is limited.

Perhaps sparkling wine is very expensive and do not used in routine cooking but to make the classic chilled dessert caupe Jacques there is no subsitute for it.

Most of prorrince is covered with vineyard and forests there is little meat available except game like wild bear.

Chicken & river fishesh are in plenty.

ALSACE AND LORRAINCE

The two provinces boast the most fertile soil in France.

these are famous for fruit orchids and have given a worlfd the most exotic liqueurs.

Eg. MirabelleKrischFromboise.

Along with bordeaux & burgndy the two are leading produced of french wine.

More important area is famous for geese ‘farming’

Geese are the most important mgredients of worlds most expensive delically.

Pate de foie gras.

Since both the provinces have often been under German suzerainty. So German influence is urident in their cooking. Particularly in Alsace, where sauasage & sauerkraut & perennial favorites.

Alsace other prize product is white cheese including very popular munster.

LORRAINE’S food has more french charecterstics. Its reowned delicacy Quinche Lorraine – an egg, cheese & bacon tart.

Two provinces are famous for fruit tarts, cherry plums & apple .

INGREDIENTSINTRODUCTION

French housewives preparing a meal for her family each has her own impeccably high standard of preparation .

to understand the French attitude to food, it is essential to to start with the beginning with a raw ingredients because for the French cook these are as important as cooking.

To shop in france is a joy in itselgf displays of regional cheese in fromageries. Brilliantly coloured fruits & vegetables.

Frenchcook still prefer to go to local markets , charcuterie poissonerie etc.

BACONBacon rasher are not used in France.

Bacon is used to give flavour to many caeeeroles, stews & pates.

French smoked belly of park used in preference to bacon, an experience items of france.

BOUQUET GARNIIt’s a handy way to give a flavour of herbs to casseroles, stews & soups etc.A traditional bouquet garni (a bunch of herbs) is made of spriog of thyme, parsleys’ one or two bay leaves tied together with string.

CHEESEMany cheese from france exported to various countries Brie & camembert are two unique cheeswe of france which has no othjer subsitutes.

The Franch peoples love towards cheese has exceeded in such a way, than any other country in the world.

Chjeese is always served at every French meal, after the main course.

French bread is broken & eaten with cheese.

It is eaten with the wine & a few grapes as accompaniments.

Children of France usually prefer soft white cheese topped with the fruits & sugar.

E.g.-Brie comembert. Cantal , Comte, Fromage Au Raisin, Munster, Roquefort etc.

CREAMFrench cream (crime Fraiche)

Cream is used both is sweet & savoury dishes.

Cream is used for thickening, enriching sauces, particularly if they are to served with meat, poultry & fish.

GARLICIT is used allover the France ( Especially in south coast, Mediterranean coast and towards the Spanish & Italian borders).

FISH AND SEA FOODFrance’s streams, rivers, shorelines are abundantly rich to satisfy the Frenchman’s unique table habbnits.The bite-sized fish include the Goujons, whitebait & sardines.

French water fishes are cod, carp, eel, Halibut, mullet, pike, sole, sturgeon & trout.

The list of crustocean is impressive Oyster, pink shrimps, mussles & scallops.

POULTRY

France perenial receipes are poule-au-pot & coq-au-vim.

Birds demands in french cooking are : duck , goose guinera fowl, pigeons, squable & furkey .

MEAT

lamb veal & pork are popular in France and generally prefer young lamb in their course of menu.

Without lamb traditional eastern feast is imcomplete without it.

VEGETABLES

FRANCE GROW EXOTIC VEGATABLE (Asparagus artichokes mushrooms) garden variety. Vegetables (Auberginess, beans peas, carrots, zucchini, narrow, cabbage, squash, cucumber, radish )

Potatoes are in a abundance so, therefore potatoes are served a separated course.